UNYTEA invites Santorum to the north country

Will they or won't they?Mitt Romney's hare's-breath (hair's breadth?) victory in his home state of Michigan last night could keep Rick Santorum and his other rivals for the GOP presidential nomination alive. But will it keep them alive until April 24, and if so, will any of them bother coming to Northern New York?Local conservatives sure hope so. The Upstate New York Tea Party tweeted this morning that they've invited Mr. Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator who won a plurality of the group's straw poll Friday night, to a rally in April. The tweet notes that it's a long shot. But perhaps it's not totally out of the question. Last year, local Republican leaders were hearing from Mr. Romney's campaign about a potential visit. The state's rules changes have made it so that you don't win all of its delegates just by winning the most votes statewide. It goes by congressional district (with at-large delegates for the statewide winner). So if somebody wins the most votes in the 23rd, they get the 23rd's two delegates. In a delegate war, every one of them counts. There are three weeks between the District of Columbia, Maryland, Texas and Wisconsin primaries and the New York primary. But weighing against a visit north of the Thruway is the fact that that Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania (a swing state for the general and Mr. Santorum's home state) and Rhode Island are also going on the 24th. So, #longshot indeed. But it's probably worth the invite.

Commenting rules:

Stick to the topic of the article/letter/editorial.

When responding to issues raised by other commenters, do not engage in personal attacks or name-calling.

Comments that include profanity/obscenities or are libelous in nature will be removed without warning.

Violators' commenting privileges may be revoked indefinitely. By commenting you agree to our full Terms of Use.